Method of making multicolor prints.



OS E. SMETH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMP,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

:METHOD OF MAKING: MULTICOLOR PRmTfS.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. lid, ildilQ..

.application led May 13, 1915. Serial No. 27,772.

To all whom 't' may concern:

Be it known that l, Anios H. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Bronx, city of New York, county of Bronx, and State of New York, have inv vented certain new and useful Improvements in the Methods of Making Multicolor Prints, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompany ing drawings, which form a part thereof.

n My invention relates to a method of making multi-color prints and more particularly to a method by which certain effects secured by diderent printing methods may be secured during a single run of the sheet to be printed.

My invention is particularly adapted for producing work having a background tint and matter superimposed thereon in a contrasting tone or color. Heretofore the com merciai practice in producing work of this character has been to Iirst make an impression upon the paper from a planographic or cameo printing surface, bearing thereon a. design having a tint effect, or from a transfer surface upon which the design of such tinted plate has been offset. Where the printing has been` directly from the tinted planographic surface, dampened sheets of aper have been used but when printing rom an odset surface or from a cameo printing surface, dry paper-has been used. After this impression of the tint has been made upon the paper, the paper is allowed to stand until the ink is dry and subsequently it was run through a second press having a printing surface consisting of an engraved, intaglio or undersurface printing plate. This class of work is usually employed in the production of safety papers, such as banknotes, checks, bonds, stock certificates, drafts,

i coupons and other negotiable instruments.

When the tint effect is printed upon dry paper, it has been necessary to dampen this paper before making the impression thereon from the engraved, intaglio or under-surface printing plate; and when the tint effect is impressed upon thepaper by a planographic surface, it has been necessary to re-dampen the paper before making an im ression thereon by means of the engraved, intaglio or under-surface plate. Hence, by the old method, each impression upon the paper was made under different conditions and in making the impression from the engraved, intaglio or undersurface plate great care was necessar. to secure accurate register, and uniformity, in the product.

To obviate the difficulties of the existing practices, it has been suggested that paper of this character be printed at a single impression, this proposed method or art involving the odsetting of the tinted design upon the non-printing surface of the engraved, intaglio or under-surface nlate and the making of a single multi-color impression from this plate upon the paper. TWhile this method has its advantages as compared with the 'methods usually practised, it is subject to the criticism that it entails the practice of different printing methods under those conditions particularly adapted to but one of these methods. The conditions surrounding the printing of an engraved, intaglio or undersurface plate difer radically and fundamentally from the conditions present in printing from an ordinary cameo printing surface or from a planographic surface, not only as to pressures and speeds but as to the nature of the ink employed. Hence, the best results cannot be secured by means of this proposed method.

By extensive experiments, l have determined that it is not essential in producing the so-called safety papers to allow the tint impression to dry before making the superimposed impression thereon from the liti engraved, intaglio `orundcr surface plate,

nor to make these impressions simultaneously; but that paper of this character can be successfully produced by a continuous method wherein the tinted background is impressed upon dampened paper conditioned for use in connection with an engraved, intaglio or under-surface plate and the impression from an engraved, intaglio or under-surface plate is superimposed thereon immediately thereafter. By this method the background may be printed under those conditions particularly adapted to the printing method employed in making the background impression, and the impression from the engraved, intaglio or under-surface plate may be made under those conditions particularly adapted for this method of printing. At the same time, although, impressions under the two methods are made successively, the time element is identical with that of the single impression method, and has the same advantages over the methods now practised, as a single impression method would.

The invention consists primarily in the method or art for making multi-color prints consisting in inking a printing surface having a tint design thereon, preparing an engraved, intaglio, or under-surface printing plate having a design thereon to be superi-mposed upon said tint design and making shown diagrammatically two forms of apparatus which may be usedin the practice of -my method or art.

Referring to the drawings Figure l is illustrative of one form of apparatus capable of use in the practice of my method or art wherein a -roll or impression cylinder common to both printing surfaces is employed; and

Fig. 2 shows a modification thereof wherein a plurality of impression rollers or ll-rolls, one for each printing surface, is employed.,

ln both forms of the apparat-us illustrated, l have shown the engraved., intaglio or undersurface printing surface as being a flat plate, although if desired, a curved plate upona form cylinder may be used instead of this flat plate and the horizontally movable hed.

In the practice of my improved method or art, l provide a printing surface having a design with a tinted effect thereon which l ink in the usual manner and a second printing surface having engraved or intaglio printing lines thereon which is prepared in the manner usually employed in undersurface printing by inking, wiping and polishing. The inks used may `be of contrasting tones or colors and the character of v`this ink is that usually required for each method employed in making the imprint.

When the surfaces have been thus prepared, an impression. is made upon a dampened sheet of pa er, first, from the tinted plate and immediately thereafter from. the engraved, intaglio, or undersurface rinting plate without removing'the paper fprom the apparatus or allowing it or the ink of the first impression, to dry sufficiently ,to allow such shrinkage of the paper as to require re-dampening thereof before making the second impression. ln this manner, the

maarre? the make-ready of the machine and is not dependent in any way upon the condition of the paper.

I have found that by making the tinted impression rst, the desired delicate background may be secured and the subsequent impression from the undersurface printing plate does not in any way interfere with the tinted impression. If desired, the design upon the tinted printing surface may be such as to leave blank spaces for the matter to be superimposed thereon.

These conditions result from the wellknown fact that in making a tinted impression, the surface of the paper remains perfectly smooth which is not the case when printing from an undersurface plate.

By making consecutive impressions, the tinted impression may be made with comparatively light pressures `while the impression from the unders-urface printing plate, may be made with a relatively greater pressure such as is required in this method of printing. l

Referring to Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, a represents a form cylinder carrying a printing surface Z1 having thereon a tinted design which be made by means of a pantographic machine, photoengraving or any yother desired or wellknown method. Cooperating with said cylinder a, is an inking mechanism comprising an inking fountain c, distributing rollers d and inking rollers c.

At j", I have shown a movable bed for an engraved, intaglio or undersurface plate g and associated therewith an inking mechanisin it, a wiping mechanism i and a polishing mechanism j.

At l have shown a lll-roll, or impression cylinder, having an operative relation to both the cylinder a and the bed f. rlhe dampened sheets of paper are fed in relation to said roll from an ordinary feed shelf Z.

ln the modified apparatus, shown in Fig. i2, the form cylinder, and plate bed, and their appurtenances, are the same as shown in Fig. l 'and above described; and the combination of these parts is the same as that of the preferred form with the exception that instead of using a lll-roll or impression cylinder coninion to both printing surfaces, l employ a plurality of impression cylinders ym-a adapted respectively to coperatie with the tinted 4printing surface upon the cylinder L and the undersurface printing plate upon the bed f.

ln this form of the apparatus the feed shelf y Z is located adjacent the impression cylinder m and the cylinders 'mf-fn, are provided respectively with transfer mechanisms of the usual construction, for transferring the sheet directly from the cylinder m to the cylinder ice lill@ or D-roll n.. While this construction has the advantages that each cylinder m--n may be made ready according to the requirements of their respective coperating printing surfaces, greater accuracy is required in the make-ready to insure the desired accuracy of register.

In Iboth forms of the apparatus however, it will be observed that the paper is printed by a continuous method, and that multicolor prints are secured'by a single run of the paper through the machine and that the impression will lbe made under exactly the same conditions as to the paper.

I am aware that in some three-color methods, successive impressions have been made from a plurality of photoengraved plates upon succeeding cylinders, but in this type of work but one printing method is employed and the conditions are not such as are found in high class commercial printmg. y

My invention is distinguished from the ordinary three-color printing method, in that I am enabled to secure multi-color work by means of radically and fundamentally different printing methods and under conditions which are not found in the ordinary three-color methods such as differences in print having a tinted.background, the qualities of which will equal that produced by the methods now being used and which have' been referred to above. By this method I avoid all likelihood of a loss of register and am enabled to produce completed work in much less time than that required by the methods at present practised.

Having described the invention what I cla-im as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent is l. The method or art of making multicolor prints consisting in inking a printing surface having a tint design thereon, preparing an engraved, intaglio or under-surface printing plate having a design thereon to be superimposed upon said t1nt design and making impressions upon the paper, first under light pressure from said surface bearing the tint design thereon, and immediatel)l thereafter under relatively greater pressure from the said printing plate.

2. The method or art of making multicolor prints consisting in inking a printing surface having a tint design thereon,- inking,

wiping and polishing an engraved, intaglio' or under surface plate having a design thereon to be superimposed upon said tint design, and making impressions upon the paper, first under light pressure from said surface bearing the tint design thereon, and immediately thereafter under .Tela-tively greater pressure from said engraved, intaglio or undersurface printing plate.

3. The method or art of making multicolor prints consisting in inking a cameo printing plate bearing a tint design thereon, inking, wiping and polishing an engraved intaglio or undersurface printing plate and making impressions upon the paper, first from said cameo printing surface bearing the tint design, and immediately thereafter from said engraved intaglio or undersurface printing plate, the said paper being subjected to diherent pressures when making said impressions respectively, the pressure upon the last named impression being relatively greater than upon the first impression.

4. The method or art of making multicolor prints consisting in superimposing a plurality of impressions upon a sheet of paper, one immediately after the other, the last impression being made from an inked, wiped and polished engraved, intaglio or undersurface printing plate and under relatively greater pressure than upon the preceding impression.

The method or art of making multicolor prints consisting in superimposing a plurality of impressions upon a dampened sheety of paper, o-ne immediately after the other, the last impression being made from an inked, wiped and polished engraved, intaglio or under-surface printing plate and under relatively greater pressure than upon the preceding impression.

In witness whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses-this 23rd day of April,

AMOS H. SMITH. Witnesses: v

JUDITH PARDEE, CLARICE FRANCK. 

